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 D A I R Y-F ARMING

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Fractions of ounces of butter, and incomplete periods of less than ten days, to be worked out in decimals and added to the total points. In the case of cows obtaining the same number ox points, the prize to be awarded to the cow that has been the longest time in milk. No prize or certificate to be given in the case oi (a) Cows under five years old failing to obtain 28 points. (&) Cows five years old and over failing to obtain 32 points. The manner in which butter tests are decided will be rendered clear by a study of Table II. It is seen that whilst the much larger Shorthorn cows—having a bigger frame to maintain and consuming more food—gave both Table II. Prize Shorthorn and Jersey Cows in the Butter Tests, London Dairy Show, 1900. Cows.

Milk to Points Points for Total In Milk for per Butter. 1 lb Age. Milk. Points. Butter. Butter. LactaDay. tion.

Shorthorns— 1st 2nd 3rd. Jerseys— 1st 2nd. 3rd

No. 37-25 6-40 42-75 39-75 11346-30 3528-00 12-

Days. 2 5* 23-67 104 2 10t 27-11 34 2 7| 23-47 33 157 29 10 2 21 13-83 103 33 10 2 3 15-37 257 40 13 1 12 23-32

43-65 42-75 3945-95 41-30 40-

more milk and more butter in the day of twenty-four hours, the Jersey milk was much the richer in fat. In the case of the first-prize Jersey the “butter ratio,” as it is termed, was excellent, as only 13 "83 ft) of milk were required to yield 1 ft) of butter; in the case of the second-prize Shorthorn, practically twice this quantity (or 27-11 R) was needed. Moreover, if the days in milk are taken into account, the difference in favour of the Jersey is seen to be 123 days. The butter-yielding capacity of the choicest class of butter cows, the Jerseys, is amply illustrated in the results of the butter tests conducted by the English Jersey Cattle Society over the period of fourteen years 1886 to 1899 inclusive. These tests have been carried out year after year at half a dozen different shows, and the results are classified in Table III. according to the age of the animals. The average time in milk is measured by the number of days since calving, and the milk and butter yields are Table III. Summary of the English Jersey Cattle Society's Butter Tests, Fourteen Years, 1886 to 1899. Cows’ Ages.

Cows Tested.

Years 2

No. 2 57 108 165 188 189 139 71 42 31 15 13 3

1 to 2„ 3 ,, 4 ,, 5 ,, 6 ,, 7 „ 8 ,, 9 ,, 10 ,, 11 ,, 12 ,, 13 ,,

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Average Average Average Quantity to Butter Milk Milk Time in 1 lb. Yield. Butter. Yield. Milk. Days. 34 73 77 72 80 89 84 82 92 88 89 95 54

lb 15 24 29 32 32 34 33 33 32 35 37 34 42

oz. 2 151 14f 54 15| 7| 111 64 64 II II

lb oz. 0 13 51 10 HI 12 13 131 12 1H 141 13J 104 If

lb 18-43 18-74 181918-76 18-92 18191818-60 192019-85

those for the day of twenty-four hours. The last column shows the “butter ratio.” This number is lower in the case of the Jerseys than in that of the general run of dairy cows. The average results from the total of 1023 cows of the various ages are : One days milk, 32 ft) 21 oz., equal to about 3 gallons, or 12 quarts; one day’s

[milk AND BUTTER TESTS.

butter, 1 lb 10§ oz.; butter ratio, 19T3, or about 16 pints of milk to 1 ft) of butter. Individual yields are sometimes extraordinarily high. Thus at the Tring show in 1899 the three leading Jersey cows gave the following results :— Cow. Sundew 4th Madeira 5th Em

Age.

LiveWeight.

In Milk.

Years. 8 7 7

lb 929 1060 864

Days. 77 107 44

Butter.

Butter Ratio.

lb 3 2 3

lb 151613-32

oz. 6 if 154 4t

The eight prize-winning Jerseys on this occasion, with an average weight of 916 ft) and an average of 117 days in milk, yielded an average of 2 ft) 9 oz. of butter per cow in the twenty-four hours, the butter ratio working out at 16'69. At the Tring show of 1900 a Shorthorn cow Cherry gave as much as 4 ft) 4^ oz. of butter in twentyfour hours; she had been in milk 41 days, and her butter ratio worked out at 15-79, which is unusually good for a big cow. 7 In the six years 1895 to 1900 inclusive 285 cows of the Shorthorn, Jersey, Guernsey, and Red Polled breeds 7 2 0 were subjected to butter tests at the London Dairy 0 Show, 0 and the general results are summarized in Table IY. Table IY. Average Butter Yields and Butter Ratios at the London Dairy Show, Six Years, 1895 to 1900. Breed. Shorthorn . Jersey Guernsey . Red Polled.

No. of Cows.

In Milk.

to 1 lb Butter. Milk Butter.

106 126 23 30

Days. 50 99 72 60

ib 1 1 1 1

oz. 11 101 94 4f

lb 28-81 19-15 21-86 30-29

Although cows in the showyard may perhaps be somewhat upset by their unusual surroundings, and thus not yield so well as at home, yet the average results of these buttertest trials over a number of years are borne out by the private trials that have taken place in various herds. Thetrials have, moreover, brought into prominence the peculiarities of different breeds, such as : (a) that the Shorthorns, Red Polls, and Kerries, being cattle whose milk contains small fat globules, are better for milk than the Jerseys and Guernseys, whose milk is richer, containing largersized fat globules, and is therefore more profitable for converting into butter ; {b) that the weights of the animals, and consequently the proportionate food, must be taken into account in estimating the cost of the dairy produce; (c) that the influence of the stage reached in the period of lactation is much more marked in some breeds than in others. An instructive example of the milk-yielding capacity of Jersey cows is afforded in the carefully kept records of Lord Rothschild’s herd at Tring Park, Herts. The following are the figures, the gallons being calculated at the rate of 10 ft) of milk to the gallon :— In 1897, 30 cows averaged 6396 lb, or 640 gallons per cow. In 1898, 29 ,, ,, 6209 ,, 621 In 1899, 37 „ ,, 6430 ,, 643 „ ,, In 1900, 39 ,, „ 6136 „ 614 „ ,, The average over the four years works out at about. 630 gallons per cow per annum. Cows of larger type will give more milk than the Jerseys, but it is less rich in fat. The milk record for the year 1900 of the herd of Red Polled cattle belonging to Mr Garrett Taylor, Whitlingham, Norfolk, affords a good example. The cows in the herd, which had before

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4 0 9

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